The online diary of a dreamer creating Contemporary Romantic Fiction - because Every Woman needs Love and Laughter in her Life.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

Creativity- Left Brain, Right brain


Ah, the joys of Left Brain, Right Brain activities. My theory goes as follows. Occupy the handies with something to do which does not require much brain power and allow the few crispy grey cells I have left to noodle on the story.
It works for me.
Gardening. I often drop the secateurs to scribble down an idea. A chapter. Or in one case a complete outline JK Rowling style [ for a Blaze which was rejected at the query stage ho, hum].
Cooking. Any excuse.
And Knittting. Plain knitting. Currently a garter stitch sideways mercerised cotton cardy. This one.
http://www.lanagrossa.com/service/mdm/04_2007/index.html

Or scarves for gifts. I will not mention the Xmas word, but work out the weeks left. Scary. We already have a gift catalogue through the post! Start now. Write your book. Make the pressies.

So here is how it works for me:
1. plain knitting project to hand
2. music playing on playlist lasting about 30 or 40 mins tops
3. writing materials/desktop
4. problem to think through about the scene/character/whole arc
5. paper or print out with space for brainstorming

Start knitting. And thinking. Dreaming out the scene/visualising. With the internal editor turned off. Nothing is too horrible or pathetic or daft. Full on day dreaming is required.

Never failed me yet. But, as Jenny Crusie says, there are many roads to OZ.


By the way - that scarf is real - from a real Vogue mag. The horror.
Nothing on my YouTube - listening to Mahler on the radio over the internet - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/

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